


Barnaby Lee's Story

by 11tol_tsukki11



Series: Laurent King's Hogwarts Adventures [6]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Hogwarts Mystery, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Fluff, M/M, sorta ? there's the sad backstory whoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 03:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19123315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11tol_tsukki11/pseuds/11tol_tsukki11
Summary: After pulling an amazing prank, Laurent King finds himself running away from angry seventh-years. Once he outruns them, he encounters Barnaby Lee, who carries heavy news with him.





	Barnaby Lee's Story

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wanted to write something like this. Feel free to give feedback~

He jumped and ran and tripped and almost fell, then started all of that again. Run, run, only run ! He’ll think later. He shot a glance behind his shoulder. Well... he wasn’t being followed. Or at least he liked to think of that. Yeah, let’s think of that... man, he would get in so much trouble if they find out it’s him who pulled that genius prank. Snape might not be so... kind if he gets caught, which was why his main priority was to outrun those seventh-years.

No way he’d tell himself he deserved that, though. No, ho, he absolutely did the right thing. These blood supremacists were bullying Ben, hard, because of his muggleborn status. As Ben’s friend, and a muggleborn himself, Lau had to act. And as usual, he acted without thinking of the consequence... but he was feeling so, so great ! Each step made him feel lighter, as if he was about to fly. Oh... how great that would be. To fly and- WALL ! He took a turn so sharp that, a few seconds later, he could hear his pursuers run into the hard wall. Hah ! A laugh bubbled out of his mouth, and he kept on racing, a smile plastered on his face.

A few minutes later, he finally slowed down, and stopped completely, catching his breath with his palms on his knees... but he couldn’t stop giggling. He had never felt so alive, and almost wanted to keep on running, but not under the same circumstances as before. He took a deep breath and walked casually through the hallways, whistling a little... and as he approached stairs, his heart suddenly skipped a beat as he recognized a familiar figure sitting on them. Barnaby Lee... argh, don’t blush, you idiot ! Well, he was already sort of red due to how much he ran... but he refused to blush anyway. He was about to join his friend when suddenly a weird noise occurred, and Lau realized that it was a sob. He looked at the portraits with moving figures, he looked at the ceiling to see if Moaning Myrtle was there... but he had to face the facts: Barnaby Lee, known as the toughest guy of his year, was crying, his face buried into his hands. His rings, usually always shining and catching sunlight, looked incredibly dull.

Lau swallowed with difficulty. Was he... should he do something ? Maybe Barnaby wanted to be left alone, but Lau couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him alone. Not when he was feeling like that... he would find himself heartless if he were to walk away. And so he stayed. Then, he slowly approached Barnaby, who was facing away. He silently closed the distance between him and the stairs, and sat next to his friend (that word still left a bitter taste in his mouth, the same he could feel when he called Penny a friend).

“Go away. Please”

Only a faint whisper, Lau barely heard it. Barnaby didn’t even look at him, he had no idea who he was talking to. The boy shook his head, even though Barnaby couldn’t see that at all. No way he’s leaving, and he was way too stubborn to be convinced otherwise.

“Nuh-uh”

Barnaby opened his eyes, seeing the darkness created by his palms pressed against his face, and slowly raised his eyes to see his friend. Wow, he looked... different. His cheeks were flushed, as if he ran a mile or so, and his hair were as messy as ever, as if he just got out of bed and ran straight to him. Hah... that was a pretty comedic thought, but Barnaby Lee couldn’t bring himself to smile. At all. He sniffled, wiped his face and looked at Lau with a silent look. He was... well, he had to admit it, he was ashamed.

“H-Hey...”

Men don’t cry ! Pull yourself together, you pathetic piece of shit ! These hurtful words hammered against Barnaby’s skull, words said by his father. Over and over, while his mom would simply watch in dread. It’s for your own good, Barnaby, she would whisper gently while tucking him in. He wants you to be the best...

She was trying to comfort him, but Barnaby saw right through that. His father didn’t think he was enough. He wasn’t the best, and for a child, knowing that your father thinks that about you is devastating.

He was pulled out of his own thoughts as he felt Lau’s small hand on his shoulder, rubbing it in small circles. He wanted to lean into his touch, but no way he’d do that. Men don’t do that sort of thing, showing too much affection and such... once again, words said by his father.

“Are you ok... ?” Lau asked, and immediately wanted to slap himself.

Of course he wasn’t okay ! Barnaby forced a smile. He couldn’t lie. Not to him.

“I... I’ve been better, I guess...”

He sighed softly, and looked at his friend. Freckles were covering his face. Adorable. How many were they ? Maybe he could count them...

“He died” he suddenly said.

Lau looked at Barnaby. Huh ? He ? Who-

“My dad. Did I tell you about him... ?” Barnaby asked softly.

Yes, he did. Lau knew that he was at Azkaban and that he worked with You-Know-Who, but that was about all. So he immediately had a concerned frown.

“He died ? Barnaby, I’m... I’m so so-”

Barnaby shook his head, and Lau was suddenly at loss of words. Shaking his head ? Really ? But... that’s his father, no ? Wasn’t Barnaby grieving ? Was he denying all of this happened ?

“Barny, ignoring all of this isn’t going to help...”

“Huh ? N-No... I-I’m not ignoring” Barnaby whispered. “I just...”

Pause.

“I felt relieved” he finally said, and another tear streamed down his cheek. “I felt relieved, and it makes me feel terrible... he...”

Another pause. He looked at Lau, but he could barely see him through his tears.

“He was horrible. He... He’d hit me, tell me it was for my own good. You-Know-Who wouldn’t want a weak kid... so he decided to tough me up. My mom didn’t do much about it, I guess she was afraid... and I didn’t want her to be scared, so I’d just close my eyes and wait for all of this to be over”

He bit on his lip, so hard he almost drew blood. Lau remained silent, listening. Usually, when he was sitting, his left leg would bounce up and down, a signal that he just wanted to get up and move. But now his leg was perfectly still.

“So when I received the news, the first thing I felt was relief. Like, huge relief. And I feel terrible because of this. He’s still my dad, you know ? He’d carry me on his shoulders, he’d read me stories... did all sort of things dads usually do. And here I am, grateful that he died at last... I-I don’t know if you... understand...”

He trailed off, looking shamefully at the floor. He couldn’t look at Lau, what if he thought he was a psychopath or an asshole or something even worst ? Oh no, please, he can’t think that... he suddenly felt Lau’s hand holding his. The redhead squeezed.

“I understand” he said. “He did terrible things to you, Barnaby. Him being your dad doesn’t excuse any of his actions... you have a lot of feelings to sort out, I guess...”

“It’s painful” Barnaby sighed. “Really painful. And on top of that I feel like an asshole”

Lau squeezed Barnaby’s hand even harder, and pulled himself closer. Barnaby could faintly smell him, a sweet mix of honey and flowers.

“You’re not an asshole, Barnaby. You’re one of the best guys I know...”

The best. These words resonated in Barnaby’s mind. He looked at Lau, who was pressed against him.

“Your feelings are just hard to deal with. You’ll get through them, and I’ll help you through this, ok ? Everyone will. That’s what friends are for”

And he suddenly hugged him, and Barnaby’s heart skipped a beat. A hug. He rarely got one of these... so he immediately took the opportunity, holding the Slytherin against him tightly, his face buried into his soft orange locks. He felt a shiver. Lau too.

“Thank you, Lau” he whispered, pulling away softly.

Their faces were inches away from each other, and Barnaby realized how pretty his friend was. Lau smiled.

“Don’t thank me for this... thank me for the Butterbeer I’m paying you”

And he suddenly stood up, clapping his hands together.

“Come on ! You told me yourself, Butterbeer heals all sorts of wounds”

“Broken bones and bruises” Barnaby said with a smile, slowly standing up.

“We’ll see if it helps for emotions too. And if it doesn’t, I’ll do everything I can to cheer you up. Let’s go !”

And he grabbed Barnaby’s hand and dragged him along, and Barnaby Lee felt a mix of gratitude... and another thing he couldn’t quite put his finger on. But it felt good... very good.


End file.
